Scandal at the auction of Maradona’s jersey from the memorable match against England!

Steve Hodge, who swapped jerseys with Argentine legend Diego Maradona after the famous 1986 World Cup, is putting the Argentine’s jersey up for auction. But the family of the deceased Argentine has challenged the authenticity of the rare artefact.

Maradona rewrote football history at the 1986 World Cup in bold letters

The 1986 World Cup in Mexico is associated with one name in football circles, and that is Diego Armando Maradona. He achieved what many football pundits consider to be the greatest individual football performance of all time.

In the quarter-final match against England, the Argentine legend did something the football world had never seen before. First, in the 51st minute of the match, he opened the scoring in the most controversial moment in football history to date, when he played the ball with his hand in front of the opposing goalkeeper and sent it into the exposed English goal.

He later said in interviews that if it was a hand, it was “the hand of God”. Four minutes later he ran the length of the pitch in a memorable solo between England’s cones to decide the fate of the match. He then led Argentina to the World Cup title and became one of the greatest footballing greats in history.

Opposite player Steve Hodge wants to sell the memorable Argentine jersey at auction

Steve Hodge was the lucky Albion star who swapped shirts with Maradona at the end of the quarter-final. Former Nottingham Forest, Tottenham and Aston Villa midfielder Hodge was one of those who stayed close to the Argentine star.

“I have been the proud owner of this item for over 35 years since Diego and I swapped jerseys in the tunnel after the famous game,” jersey owner Steve Hodge said ahead of the auction , according to Goal. “It was an absolute privilege to play against one of the greatest and most amazing footballers of all time,” he said of Maradona.

“The ‘Hand of God’ jersey has deep cultural significance for the football world, the people of Argentina and the people of England and I am sure the new owner will be immensely proud to own the most iconic football jersey in the world,” Hodge added.

Maradona’s family has decided to challenge the credibility of Hodge’s version

But an unpleasant affair has emerged over the impending sale of Diego Maradona’s jersey, which it is claimed could fetch just under 120 million Czech crowns. The Argentine’s family has come forward with the opinion that the jersey going to Sotheby’s is not the one Maradona was wearing when he scored.

In fact, Dalma Maradona’s daughter has told the media that the owner of the jersey is someone completely different from the former England international Hodge. “It’s not the shirt my father wore in the second half,” the daughter of the late legend shocked the world. “I’m sure Hodge doesn’t have it, and I know who it is, but I don’t want to reveal it,” she added, referring to the craziness of the incident.

The ex-wife of Claudia Villafane expressed her opposition to the auction sale of the artifact for private purposes. “It’s our word against his, but I don’t think he needs the money either, unless he’s auctioning it off for a good cause,” Villafane said. “It would be good if the Argentine Football Association bought it,” she said.

The current world record for the sale of a game jersey is 123 million Czech crowns for the jersey of American baseball player Babe Ruth, who represented the New York Yankees and is considered the greatest player of the sport of all time.

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